Nick C.The Germs were a fucking great band, but Darby was way too fucked up for them to exist for longer than a very brief period. They couldn't tour, and they couldn't even play in LA after a while since they were banned from everywhere (they played as "GI", Germs Incognito, for a while). His influence on the entire punk rock aesthetic is totally underrated, and they kickstarted the entire LA scene, giving us Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, The Dickies, etc.

Somebody find the scene from Decline with Darby and his "girlfriend" (he was gayer than Liberace) talking about posing for pictures with the dead housepainter. Creepy shit.

Nick C.Also, Mike Watt's "Drove Up From Pedro" is a great song about The Germs and their tremendous impact on southern California and American music in general. It's on his first solo album, "Ball-hog or Tugboat?".